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The New Adventures of an Old Cross Stitcher

Back in the days of Bon Jovi and 21 Jump Street, I was a cross stitcher. In fact, I learned needlepoint during the Carter administration and graduated to cross stitch about the same time Ferris Bueller took that day off. I worked on various projects in the evenings after work until my daughter was born. After her arrival, I stitched two small designs for "Grandmother" and "Grandfather" then said goodbye to hoops, threads and cloth for over 2 decades.

Recently, not one but a few of the podcasters I watch or listen to mentioned cross stitch. I posted a few pics of my projects from back in the day on Instagram - thanks #tbt - and as often happens, a follower (hi @carriefluter!) encouraged me to start again. Social media, the land of enablers!

The next day, I spent way too much time during my prep looking at cross stitch patterns and ignoring my stack of grading. (Don't judge; it's May.) The phrase "I am no bird" was rattling around in my head after reading Jane Eyre not once but twice since the beginning of the year, but I couldn't find a Jane Eyre inspired design I truly liked. Then I came across this design in the SimplySmart Etsy shop:

After printing the pattern, I realized the colors were remarkably close to the cover of my 1968 version of Jane Eyre:

I even invested in a handy dandy q-snap with my Teacher Appreciate Week Amazon gift card!!

It's true, I've put down my knitting at times and picked up cross stitch once again. On the next podcast, I'll talk more about the new adventures of an old cross stitcher, but for now, feel free to continue the enabling with your comments here or on Instagram!

I not at all sorry that you encouraged me to pick up cross stitch again! I forgot how much I enjoyed it, and I find it less "fidly" than knitting. Not that I'm putting down my yarn anytime soon, but cross stitch makes for a nice change. What worries me is that I am so tempted to start one of those big 12 month projects from Country Cottage Needleworks... but I think I have to work up to that!